Ratatouille sweeps Annies
Variety reports that Pixar’s Ratatouille was the big winner at 35th Annie Awards, held on February 8, 2008, where it won 9 trophies, including best animated feature. Ratatouille also won writing and directing for Brad Bird, best voice acting for Ian Holm, best character animation, music, storyboarding, and production design. Other winners include Sony Pictures […] |
Speed Racer The Next Generation: The Beginning animated film
SuperHeroHype reports that an animated Speed Racer film will be released to DVD on May 6th, with a special airing of the feature on Nicktoons four days prior. Setting up the new animated television series, Speeed Racer The Next Generation: The Beginning has a run time of 66 minutes, and is hoping that hype surrounding […] |
New Kung Fu Panda images
A handful of new screen captures from the upcoming Kung Fu Panda have appeared on FilmWeb’s site. To view the images, click the link on that reads “zobacz caÅ‚Ä… galeriÄ™” or any of the four images that appear on the page. Thanks to ‘CGIFanatic’ over at the Animated News & Views Forums for the heads […] |
Brad Bird radio interviews
Cartoon Brew points to a pair of recent radio interviews with writer-director Brad Bird which are worth a listen. The first interview elaborates on what he thinks is wrong with Hollywood filmmaking and about how animation is treated at the Academy Awards. The second interview gets off to quite a bad start when the host […] |
MyToons Animation site inks deal with YouTube Channel
A press release published by Business Wire reveals that MyToons Animation, an online animation community, has made a deal with video site YouTube to showcase the creative work of thousands of animators on the new MyToons branded YouTube channel. MyToons.com provides a global platform for animators to design and share their original animated videos, cartoons, […] |
UPDATED: Full WALL•E trailer premieres online
After a series of teaser trailers, Empire Online now premieres the exclusive first full trailer for Disney/Pixar’s WALL•E in a streaming flash format. What if mankind had to leave Earth, and somebody forgot to turn the last robot off? WALL•E, a robot, spends every day doing what he was made for. But soon, he will […] |
Besson has Heart for Animation
According to Variety, Filmmaker Luc Besson’s EuropaCorp has picked up rights to Mathias Malzieu’s sci-fi novel La Mecanique du Coeur (The Mechanics of the Heart) and is planning to turn it into an animated film. La Mecanique du Coeur takes place in 1874 and involves a young man who must avoid strong emotions, especially love, […] |
TV to DVD: Garfield and Friends, Drawn Together
TV Shows on DVD provides a full list of the mini-episodes featured on Garfield and Friends: A Cat and his Nerd. The best-of disc features 15 shorts that focuse on Garfield’s “pet human”, Jon. This compilation-DVD is scheduled for a May 13th release. The site also shares the cover artwork for Drawn Together – Season […] |
Disney TV Animation welcome Eric Coleman on board
Animation Insider shares some insight regarding Disney TV Animation’s hiring of Eric Coleman, previously a series developer and producer for Nickelodeon for almost 15 years. Coleman comes aboard Want Disney Television Animation as the new Senior Vice President of Development. Coleman, who oversaw Nickelodeon-hits like Avatar: The Last Airbender, will be responsible in leading Disney’s […] |
Chimpunks cover artwork
DVDactive reveals the cover artwork for the standard DVD, the special edition DVD and the Blu-ray release of 20th Century Fox’s Alvin and the Chimpunks while also providing the technical specifications and a detailed list of bonus features for each individual release. All three versions of this recent rodent-feature will hit US stores on April […] |
Jim Henson Biopic in the making
Coming Soon reports on Empire Film Group’s recent acquisition of the motion picture and distribution rights for Henson, an original screenplay by Robert D. Slane that chronicles the life and achievements of Muppets creator, Jim Henson. The film will focus on Jim Henson’s life from his early fascination with television as a teenager, through his […] |
Hi-Res Wall•E Image
A high resolution version of a Wall•E image previously reported has appeared on Empire’s website. The screen shot gives us a clearer look at the picture that recently was published in Entertainment Magazine. In other news relating to the trash-collecting robot, a television spot that aired during the super-bowl can be viewed on the film’s […] |
It's The AristoCats, Charlie Brown! Plus contest winners!
The AristoCats gets the once over, plus Charlie Brown’s Valentine DVD reviews and this week’s contest winners’ names! |
The AristoCats: Special Edition
Disney’s exuberant comedy thriller doesn’t always get the credit it should, but it’s certainly no cat-astrophe and deserves another welcome look on DVD, with a handful of decent supplements. |
Be My Valentine, Charlie Brown: Remastered Deluxe Edition
Warner kicks off its Peanuts collections with three specials focusing on Charlie Brown’s (lack of) love life. |
A Charlie Brown Valentine
Three Charlie Brown specials look at love in the Peanuts corner of the world. |
Rolling Stones to get animated
MovieWeb reports that Dick Clement and Ian La, the writers of Across The Universe, are planning on making an animated film using music of The Rolling Stones, much in the same way Universe featured Beatles tunes. Currently titled Ruby Tuesday, the project will reportedly be “a lot edgier” than more kid-friendly fare, though not enough […] |
Interview: Marjane Satrapi
Ain’t it Cool News recently had a chance to chat with Marjane Satrapi and present us with an in-depth interview with the author of the controversial graphic novel Persepolis and co-director of the animated feature of the same name. The interview elaborates, among other things, on the films’ Oscar-nomination, its upcoming English translation as well […] |
Why Ratatouille could have been nominated for Best Picture
CNN Money elaborates on the interesting notion that Disney/Pixar’s Ratatouille could very well have been nominated for best picture at this year’s Academy Awards if it wasn’t for its “animated” nature. Even though it was ranked by many critics as one of the year’s best, it was never a serious contender for best picture. Instead, […] |
TV to DVD: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Woody Woodpecker
TV Shows on DVD reveals the cover artwork for the sixth season of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, set for an April 8th release date. The site also presents us with an update on The Woody Woodpecker and Friends Classic Cartoon Collection: Volume 2, including a detailed list of the 75 cartoons featured on the 3-disc […] |
Web Toons You Need to See 2008
AWN has published a list of 10 of their favorite Web Toons from 2007 that they feel needs to be seen. The animated shorts chosen by the site represent trends, as well as the growing talent of animators working on the Net. Some were chosen for their aesthetic qualities, others were chosen for their storytelling […] |
The Muppets launch new Disney XD site
The Muppets Newsflash points to the Muppets‘ official website, wich has undergone a major restyling and has now become part of the Disney XD network. The new site showcases an array of unseen Muppet-material with already more than 15-minutes of brand-new video content, while you can also enjoy classic clips from the Muppet Show DVDs, […] |
WALL•E site updated, new character revealed
The official website of Disney/Pixar’s WALL•E has received an update and now features (outside of the charming animated intro) an about the film section, a gallery, downloads and videos. Sections still under construction include Build-A-Bot, Mash Up and Games. In other WALL•E-related news, Upcoming Pixar points to the films’ IMDb page wich now lists a […] |
Video: THX – The audience hears a Who
To spread the word of their upcoming animated feature, Horton Hears A Who, 20th Century Fox has teamed up with THX to create a special Horton-variant of the famous THX announcement logo featuring the films’ main stars, Jim Carry and Steve Carrell as Horton and the major of Who-ville respectively. The video is currently shown […] |
Star Wars: Clone Wars to get theatrical release in UK
Ain’t it Cool News reports that the first 3 episodes of Lucasfilm’s upcoming animated Clone Wars might get a theatrical distribution in the UK in form of a 90 minute film. The rest of the episodes will then come out on a yet undecided TV channel. This news has been confirmed by a number of […] |
Contest roundup
Animated News and Views is currently running four different contests and giving away fourteen DVDs! Be sure to enter soon as several of the giveaways are about to close. • The Ten Commandments – Five winners will receive a copy of Genius Entertainment’s new CGI animated release. Last day to enter is February 5th. • […] |
Oscars, Richard Sherman, SuperFriends and more – it's another packed Monday!
Our annual Oscar contest kicks off, and we speak to Richard Sherman! Plus SuperFriends and Ten Commandments reviews, Warner’s Oscar animation release and more! |
Scales and Arpeggios: Richard M. Sherman and the “mewsic” of The AristoCats!
Animated View speaks to the legendary Richard Sherman about composing for Disney’s most pampered pets, plus a few thoughts from Toulouse himself, Gary Dubin! |
The Ten Commandments
Moses gets the short thrift in this budget adaptation that boasts a solid cast but can’t match the strength of the soundtrack with its sometimes painfully amateur visuals. |